The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) intends to almost quadruple its usual prices for a round-trip train ticket from the centre of Boston to Gillette Stadium during the 2026 World Cup.
According to the MBTA website, the authority usually charges people $20 for a return ticket from train stations in the centre of Boston for special events such as New England Patriots games in the NFL, New England Revolution in MLS, or concerts.
However, soccer fans who attended the exhibition match between France and Brazil at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro on Thursday saw the price increased by 50 per cent, up to $30 per-person, without any options of concessions. The purchase regulations stated that children under 11 would need to possess a valid ticket.
Yet even the prices charged on Thursday are set to more than double during the World Cup this summer, while they will be almost four times the usual prices asked of NFL and MLS fans. According to sources familiar with the planning, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, individuals will be charged around or even more than $75 per-person for a return ticket to make the 27-mile journey from Boston South station to the stadium.
The MBTA is planning to announce its fare programs by April 8.
Gillette Stadium, home to the NFL's New England Patriots and MLS team New England Revolution, is owned by the Kraft Group, headed up by multi-billionaire Robert Kraft. The 65,000-seater venue is scheduled to hold seven matches during the World Cup, including a round-of-32 game and a quarter-final.
The group stage games include two Scotland matches against Haiti and Morocco and England's game against Ghana, and a fixture between Norway and France.
In a statement to The Athletic on Thursday afternoon, the MBTA said: "The MBTA has taken on a $35 million project to upgrade Foxboro Station in advance of this World Cup, including making it fully accessible. The MBTA plans to run an unprecedented amount of service for the World Cup, mobilizing up to 20,000 riders to and from each match, and we're excited to serve the global community of soccer fans coming to Massachusetts."
Sources close to the MBTA, who remained anonymous as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the specific pricing, said that the upgrade service has come at a great cost to the Authority and they therefore said it is reasonable to expect that ticket fares will increase in the face of these costs.
For soccer fans attending the World Cup, however, this is yet another cost for supporters, compounding the and .
During the 2022 men's World Cup in Qatar, official ticket-holders received free access to Doha's metro system throughout the tournament. Similarly, at the 2024 European Championship in Germany, match ticket holders also had access to free public transport on game day in host cities.
The U.S. was never likely to follow the lead on this, with cities and states seeking to recover huge investments into the World Cup via the proposed economic impact of the tournament, while the Qatar central government poured vast sums into its competition as a part of a broad state-building project.
In a statement to The Athletic on Thursday night, the Football Supporters Association (FSA) - the representative body for supporters in England and Wales - called on Boston to "revisit" the planned pricing and give fans "a fair deal."
An FSA spokesperson said: "On top of extortionate parking charges and likely high taxi tariffs, sadly it comes as little surprise that the cost of what should be a free service to encourage use of public transport has been set at a ludicrously high level for what is by far the most expensive World Cup ever.
"This is yet another example of the exploitation of loyal fans who work hard to pay to support their national teams in person. More money to find for those looking to travel to games they have already paid a small fortune to attend.
"It's worth remembering that supporters benefitted from free travel in Russia and Qatar, and whilst that was not to be expected in every host city at the World Cup, we would have hoped organizers could arrange a fair deal for fans looking to follow their team.
"Surely this has to be revisited and fans given a fair deal and made to feel welcome by the host cities."
This article originally appeared in .
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